I was using my impact wrench incorrectly...

T5R92011 · Jul 8th, 2018, 20:32

I received this relatively cheap impact wrench (Wolf 18v Impact Wrench - £103) as a Christmas gift last year and having tested it out on wheel nuts that had been done up with garage air impact gun, I was slightly disappointed that it couldn't remove them even after holding the trigger down for ages. Given this impact wrench was supposedly rated at 380Nm removal force, I was pretty disappointed especially given it was advertised as an "Autoexpress 2017 recommended product".

However after a few months of use, the thought suddenly occurred to me that perhaps I wasn't doing something correctly. I remembered the golden rule when drilling/sawing is always "let the tool do the work", don't force it down etc.

So I tried similar logic with the impact gun. So rather than pushing inwards to hold the gun steady, I instead attempted to simply hold it level, without putting any inward pressure on bolt or the gun.

And would you believe it? It's suddenly zipping everything off.... Crank pulley bolt on my T5 (300Nm) it whipped it off within a few seconds.

Prior to this I was considering buying a super expensive impact wrench as I thought mine wasn't up to the job... I guess the manner I was previously using it was suppressing the full impact blows from the hammer mechanism.

Amazing how a slight adjustment to how you do something can make a HUGE difference.

classicswede · Jul 9th, 2018, 00:10

Next time get a 5 year old to help you

https://youtu.be/SXI0iaOde3k

ThomasG · Jul 9th, 2018, 06:34

To be honest...
After reading the title only my thought was "oh, yet another one with locking wheel nuts"..

Jul 8th, 2018, 20:32	#1
T5R92011 FCW Auto Service Last Online: Apr 22nd, 2024 19:40 Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Gloucester	I was using my impact wrench incorrectly... I received this relatively cheap impact wrench (Wolf 18v Impact Wrench - £103) as a Christmas gift last year and having tested it out on wheel nuts that had been done up with garage air impact gun, I was slightly disappointed that it couldn't remove them even after holding the trigger down for ages. Given this impact wrench was supposedly rated at 380Nm removal force, I was pretty disappointed especially given it was advertised as an "Autoexpress 2017 recommended product". However after a few months of use, the thought suddenly occurred to me that perhaps I wasn't doing something correctly. I remembered the golden rule when drilling/sawing is always "let the tool do the work", don't force it down etc. So I tried similar logic with the impact gun. So rather than pushing inwards to hold the gun steady, I instead attempted to simply hold it level, without putting any inward pressure on bolt or the gun. And would you believe it? It's suddenly zipping everything off.... Crank pulley bolt on my T5 (300Nm) it whipped it off within a few seconds. Prior to this I was considering buying a super expensive impact wrench as I thought mine wasn't up to the job... I guess the manner I was previously using it was suppressing the full impact blows from the hammer mechanism. Amazing how a slight adjustment to how you do something can make a HUGE difference. __________________ FCW Auto Service (Gloucester) https://www.fcw-autoservice.com Last edited by T5R92011; Jul 8th, 2018 at 21:23.

Jul 9th, 2018, 00:10	#2
classicswede Trader Volvo in my veins Last Online: Today 14:21 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Anglesey	Next time get a 5 year old to help you https://youtu.be/SXI0iaOde3k __________________ http://www.classicswede.org www.classicswede.co.uk

Jul 9th, 2018, 06:34	#3
ThomasG Aka MadBabs Last Online: Nov 11th, 2022 15:29 Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: London	To be honest... After reading the title only my thought was "oh, yet another one with locking wheel nuts".. __________________ `03 V70 Mk2 Auto 2.4 B5244 NA, 170Bhp, 295K miles (Now parts donor) '05 XC70 MK2 Geartronic, 2.5 B5254T2, 210bhp, 129k miles

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